SOURCE: Afzal Iqbal, "The Poet as Thinker," in The Life and Work of Muhammad Jalal-ud-Din Rumi, revised edition, Institute of Islamic Culture, 1964, pp. 157-85.

In the essay below, originally published in 1956, Iqbal examines the message of Rumi's Mattinavi and discusses such concepts as the relation between love and intellect, the nature of the self, evolution, determinism and responsibility, knowledge of God, and the Ideal Man.

When we talk of Rumi's thought, we should not be taken to mean that he had a systematic and coherent philosophy. His thoughts lie scattered and unconnected like broken threads but a patient effort can weave them into an almost consistent pattern. The point is that we should not approach Rumi's thought in the same spirit as we approach the thought of a systematic thinker.

Another point of difference between Rumi and systematic thinkers is that whereas the latter usually support their contentions...